Beyond Pride
by St. Harridan
Summary: Kuchiki Byakuya doesn't care much for others, but when it comes to his lieutenant, that's another thing entirely.


Written for the **"If you were..." Challenge **for **5 Prompts **on LJ.

**Prompt: **#7 - If I was in jail, I know you'd spring me.

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Beyond Pride

He hated being in prison. It was one of the worst, most disgraceful place to be. Despite his dishonourable upbringing in the lower districts of the Rukon, Renji couldn't help but feel disgusted at the stench of the holding cell. It smelled like a thousand years' worth of shinigami discharge and waste products, both liquid and solid. A generous dose of the smell of rotting carcasses thrown in perfected the mix.

Renji had only been there for a day, and already he felt the draining effects of the stench and being isolated from the world. They stored him in darkness like as if he was some sort of beast, a danger to the public when in fact he had done nothing of the sort to place him among the ranks of convicts.

Surely a couple of drinks hadn't the power to land him in jail, did it?

Renji had thought so at first, when he had allowed himself to be pulled along to the pub with Matsumoto and Hisagi to celebrate their recent engagement. Truth be told, he had been busy with paperwork, and was supposed to be running errands for his captain. But, since Byakuya was still having his hands full with a captains' meeting, Renji had thought that attending a small party wouldn't be much of a problem. He had figured to return to his division and resume work before the meeting ended, but unfortunately, things didn't really played out as much as he had liked.

For one thing, Renji had had too much to drink courtesy of Madarame, who so vigorously challenged him to a drinking game. With Matsumoto there, the exalted queen of alcohol, refusing wasn't an option for Renji. Bottles were lined up on the table, and at the count of three, Renji and Madarame went on to take large swigs of sake till each and every bottle was empty, and they had to order more.

Following the game, Renji, being overwhelmingly drunk and completely unaware as to his surroundings, had slumped onto the table with a half-empty bottle in hand. Events that trailed closely after were a little hazy, but when he woke later that evening, Renji found himself in prison with nothing but the clothes on his back and without his zanpakuto. There was a deep cut on his left temple and he sported a split lip.

All Renji could do was curse himself for being such a fool. For a moment he had wondered where Hisagi and Madarame were, whether they were in the same state as him, but he pushed their conditions to the back of his mind. He knew Matsumoto was fine, since she knew her way around the authorities and the pub owner, so he wasn't quite worried about her. The only thing, the only _person _he was worried about was his captain.

Was he searching for him? Did he even notice that Renji hadn't returned for the night?

Renji couldn't help but hope for Byakuya to realize it, but at the same time he dreaded what he would say. Surely the man would be disappointed in him for doing such a thing, for ruining the reputation of his division, of his captain. Even if he didn't mean it, he had still committed an act to humiliate his superior, and he couldn't forgive himself. Maybe Byakuya was busy trying to wave away rumours that his lieutenant had ran off in the middle of work to catch some fun.

Renji was indeed a fun-loving person, but still he would never quit work to indulge his own desires. He had only went against his code of conduct in order to celebrate Hisagi and Matsumoto's official relationship, and thus, he was there as a friend, not a delinquent. He couldn't imagine himself as such an individual without a care in the world for his duties.

As thoughts swarmed his mind, mostly pertaining to his captain, Renji lay down and stretched his arms above his head with a grunt. He didn't know whether it was night or day outside, for it was total darkness in the cell. It caused him great anxiety to not know about the outside world, for he had never imagined himself to be here, in a holding cell, awaiting someone to pay his fines and spring him out.

Who would spring him out, he wondered. There was a slight chance that his captain would take the trouble and make his way to the prison to secure his release. He was a rather… arrogant superior, and with his unbelievably expensive scarf, Renji couldn't bet on Captain Kuchiki to be the one to release him, no matter how much he wanted to.

Footsteps echoed throughout the corridor, dull and daunting. They came to a stop outside Renji's cell. He was certain that there were two pairs of feet, two people, out there. It confused him, as normally only one jailer would deliver food to him. The thought of food would usually raise his spirits, but this time, it only dampened them. The jailers had no basic knowledge of how to care for their captive shinigami. Renji's growling stomach was enough proof of their ignorance.

"Lieutenant Aba-"

"You can leave that piece of crap you call food there," Renji huffed, turning away from the door to lie on his side. "There's a high chance that I'm not gonna eat it anyway, so why bother?"

"Breakfast isn't served this early in the morning, Lieutenant."

"So what the hell do you want?" Renji snapped, mood turning sour with each passing second.

"Captain Kuchiki has come to free you."

To Renji, the moment his captain stepped into the cell, it felt like his dismal world had been carved open by the might and beauty of Senbonzakura. Immediately, he leaped from the bed and onto his feet, smoothed the rumpled front of his uniform, and bowed low.

"C-Captain Kuchiki, sir!"

The jailer left them, and an uneasy silence engulfed the atmosphere. Renji felt the slight shift in posture, and when he mustered the courage to look up, he found that Byakuya had turned his back on him. His heart swelled with guilt and shame, tearing open barely healed wounds sustained from the moment he had been aware of his conviction.

"Captain, I'm really sorry, I apologize." Renji clasped both his hands together and bowed lower, squeezing his eyes shut. "Please forgive me!"

A short moment of silence followed wherein time seemed to freeze, but Byakuya broke its bitter layer with a voice that was somehow music to Renji's ears.

"Resume your work from where you left off. I want the reports on my desk by noon."

There was an unspoken message in Byakuya's curt tone, one that threatened the wrath of the Kuchiki if work was to be delayed, but Renji ignored all of it. Having his captain go through the trouble of setting foot in this nasty cell just to secure his release… it was really quite difficult for Renji to digest. He was still standing there, frozen to the spot in shameless awe, when Byakuya turned around and strode back to him.

Renji straightened up, standing at full attention with pursed lips. Calm and stoic as ever, Byakuya raised his right hand which held Renji's zanpakuto. Not wanting to waste any more time and lose his dignity to acting like a fool, Renji reached out with his palms to the ceiling. Byakuya placed the zanpakuto in his hands and exited the cell, his actions swift and smooth as if they had been executed all at once.

Gripping his sheathed blade tightly, Renji trailed closely at his captain's heels. Just a few steps behind Byakuya Renji walked, feeling all the more important. Usually, Byakuya couldn't be bothered less with shinigami who broke the law, but there he was, springing his convicted lieutenant out of prison, contradicting his own words.

Renji couldn't hold back the grin that tugged at the corners of his mouth as he tucked his zanpakuto in his sash. Absently, he sniffed, and a pleasant, familiar scent greeted him. The horrid jail odour was gone, only to be replaced with the aroma of the finest Kuchiki tea leaves.

Renji couldn't wait to return to the barracks and have a dose of tea himself.


End file.
